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It is 2014, not being able to switch between operating system versions should be looked on as illiteracy. Fine, they can't use Ubuntu, whatever. But if our bure

It is 2014, not being able to switch between operating system versions should be looked on as illiteracy. Fine, they can't use Ubuntu, whatever. But if our bureaucrats can't have a basic level of technical literacy, then they shouldn't be trusted with our government's data.

dewey 13y ago
I agree, but you have to keep in mind that some of these users are old (Think about the so police stations in small villages or how we call them: "Dorfpolizisten") and they didn't grow up with computers. It still takes a lot of convincing there especially if there's some kind of "Früher war alles besser" ("Back in the old days everything was better") mentality which isn't uncommon in these parts.
glomph 13y ago
This is unreasonable. Government officials use software they don't write it. Migrating to linux often requires new software to be made or found.
- dublinben 13y ago
  You don't need to be a programmer to be computer literate. I can't program a line of code, and I'm comfortable on any OS, and can learn a new application in under a day. This shouldn't be a special or rare skill, but it really is.
JabavuAdams 13y ago
So, how exactly are you going to fire all of those people at the height of their power? Even if 50 year olds don't "get it", they have something that 20-35 year olds don't -- power and influence within their organizations.
- 3pt14159 13y ago
  We should never have let it get this far. Computers have been around for 50 years, nobody in the work force today should have thought that they could avoid them. So yes, after getting 50 year olds to sit down and mess around with a computer for a couple months to see if they can "get" it, they should be let go. We fundamentally hire people to do a job. When they can't effectively utilize technology they are holding back society. It would be better to put them on welfare or to have them transition to a lower tech position. I don't want the local police chief installing some browser spamware and having all the juvie records leaked.
  - skriticos2 13y ago
    Personal computers came later. I remember in the mid nineties when I was in my teens and bought my first PC. I was one of the few people in the village to have a PC. I imagine that people in their 40's and above got acquainted with computers in office settings when they were already adult. Adult non-geeks can be very resistant to change, especially repeated one.
  - DasIch 13y ago
    A significant number of these people are probably Beamte[1], letting them go is not a possibility. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beamter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beamter
- jebblue 13y ago
  It's clear from reading the comments people are making about older people shows that being technical does not aid one's level of wisdom.
  - cube_yellow 13y ago
    The future of civilization rests in the hands of people who can best use and control software. How's that for wisdom?

dewey 13y ago

I agree, but you have to keep in mind that some of these users are old (Think about the so police stations in small villages or how we call them: "Dorfpolizisten") and they didn't grow up with computers. It still takes a lot of convincing there especially if there's some kind of "Früher war alles besser" ("Back in the old days everything was better") mentality which isn't uncommon in these parts.

glomph 13y ago

This is unreasonable. Government officials use software they don't write it. Migrating to linux often requires new software to be made or found.

dublinben 13y ago
You don't need to be a programmer to be computer literate. I can't program a line of code, and I'm comfortable on any OS, and can learn a new application in under a day. This shouldn't be a special or rare skill, but it really is.

JabavuAdams 13y ago

So, how exactly are you going to fire all of those people at the height of their power? Even if 50 year olds don't "get it", they have something that 20-35 year olds don't -- power and influence within their organizations.

3pt14159 13y ago
We should never have let it get this far. Computers have been around for 50 years, nobody in the work force today should have thought that they could avoid them. So yes, after getting 50 year olds to sit down and mess around with a computer for a couple months to see if they can "get" it, they should be let go. We fundamentally hire people to do a job. When they can't effectively utilize technology they are holding back society. It would be better to put them on welfare or to have them transition to a lower tech position. I don't want the local police chief installing some browser spamware and having all the juvie records leaked.
- skriticos2 13y ago
  Personal computers came later. I remember in the mid nineties when I was in my teens and bought my first PC. I was one of the few people in the village to have a PC. I imagine that people in their 40's and above got acquainted with computers in office settings when they were already adult. Adult non-geeks can be very resistant to change, especially repeated one.
- DasIch 13y ago
  A significant number of these people are probably Beamte[1], letting them go is not a possibility. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beamter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beamter
jebblue 13y ago
It's clear from reading the comments people are making about older people shows that being technical does not aid one's level of wisdom.
- cube_yellow 13y ago
  The future of civilization rests in the hands of people who can best use and control software. How's that for wisdom?